The ThinkCentre M90p is a high performance corporate PC from Lenovo that conforms
to what they call their ultra small form factor. In essence it is an updated
version of the M58p,
moving from Core 2 and DDR2 to Core i5 and DDR3. Like the M58p, a main marketing
point for M90p is its eco-friendliness; it has several environmental certifications
including EPEAT
Gold, Energy Star 5.0,
and GreenGuard.
While a green machine is a nice bonus for an individual, for corporations that
often deploy fleets of identical PCs that may operate 24-7, this is no small
matter. Energy efficiency in particular is absolutely essential.

Lenovo ThinkCentre M90p sample bundle.

The M90p conforms to the same physical dimensions as the M58p with its innards
compacted into a 238 x 275 x 79 mm form. Of course with the tight confines comes
limited expansion  the case has but one hard drive bay and only a single
open PCI low-profile slot. The system is powered by a dual core Intel Core i5
processor, so it should be more energy efficient than its Core 2 driven predecessor,
and thus potentially quieter. Despite being as powerful as many desktop PCs,
it ships with only a 130W 87% efficient AC-DC power brick rather than a typical
internal power supply unit.

19.5V/6.66A 130W AC/DC adapter.

Lenovo ThinkCentre M90p USFF 3853: Specifications

Model

Base Configuration

Sample Configuration (differences only)

Processor

Intel Core i5-650 (3.2GHz, 4MB cache)

Intel Core i5-660 (3.33GHz, 4MB cache)

Chipset

Intel Q57

Memory

2GB PC3-10600 1333MHz SoDIMM
(1 DIMM)

3GB PC3-10600 1333MHz SoDIMM
(2 DIMMs)

Graphics

Intel GMA HD (integrated)

Hard Drive

160GB 7200RPM

500GB 7200RPM

Optical Drive

None

DVD Recordable

Networking

Gigabit Ethernet

Connectors

Front: 2 x USB, microphone, headphone

Rear: DisplayPort, VGA, 6 x USB, RJ45, audio in/out, microphone

Expansion

1 x PCI slot, low profile

Speakers

Built-in

Keyboard

Preferred Pro Full Sized

Mouse

USB Optical

Operating System

Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit

Windows 7 Professional 32-bit

Dimensions
(D x L x H)

238 x 275 x 79 mm
9.4 x 10.8 x 3.1"

Warranty

3 Year Parts / 3 Year Labor (Limited On-site)

Street Price

US$993

US$1,194

The sample configuration we received has a few upgrades over the base model
including a faster processor, more RAM, a higher capacity hard drive, an optical
drive, and Windows 7 Professional rather than Home Premium. These improvements
tack on an extra $200 to the price according to Lenovo's website.

On paper both configurations of the M90p seem heavily overpriced given the
hardware, but it isn't actually possible to build a comparable system as there
are no mini-ITX motherboards using the Q57
chipset available in retail. Q57 has several management and security features
that may come in handy in corporate environments. For reference the slim OptiPlex
980 from Dell with more-or-less equivalent specifications to our M90p sample
configuration can be ordered for about $80 less, though Dell's enclosure is
a bit taller, 2 inches wider/deeper, and uses an internal power supply.